


The Gift of Time

by MLauren



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edeleth, F/F, Fluff, Holiday Fic Exchange, New Year, Romance, Secret Santa, Time - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21927613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MLauren/pseuds/MLauren
Summary: Edelgard wishes she had more time with her wife. Byleth cannot change the past, but she may find a way to gift El a moment in time. | F!Byleth x EdelgardA Secret Santa ficlet of fluff. A gift for the wonderous, Shizuka!Happy Holidays, dear.
Relationships: Edelgard von Hresvelg & My Unit | Byleth, Edelgard von Hresvelg/My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 3
Kudos: 135





	The Gift of Time

**Author's Note:**

> Dear: Shizuka 
> 
> Happy Holidays! 
> 
> For you, I come bearing the gift of time; Edeleth style. Always remember to never take special moments for granted. Live in the moment, and leave your past behind you. 
> 
> Cheers and well-wishes,  
> M.

Edelgard rarely spoke of regrets. If she had any, they remained locked within herself; as did most of her secrets. Knowing this, Byleth had been surprised to hear her wife wishing for more time... 

The conversation had begun a few nights prior, and still, it lingered in Byleth’s head. 

“-more time together, is what I mean...” Edelgard had explained. “I fear what little we did have, we wasted while entangled in my plans for the Empire.”

After her words were spoken, Edelgard had looked away. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Evidently, she had said more than she meant to. Perhaps saying anything at all had caused her distress, though Byleth could not understand why. 

However, nothing further was said on the matter during that evening. Byleth had accepted the quick brush of lips against her palm, and watched Edelgard turn to her side. Then, the two laid in silence. For a long while, the couple just breathed. Edelgard eventually fell asleep, while Byleth remained wide awake. 

For hours she revisited her wife’s words. They spiralled in her mind and set fire to a new idea. Byleth was a fixer. She was a problem solver. 

Byleth could not change the past, but there might be a way to gift Edelgard a moment in time. 

* * *

A week had gone by since that evening. The empire was now amidst the largest celebration of the year. It was a time for togetherness, feasts, and much-needed rest.

With it, the palace halls smelled of baked goods and freshly-cut flowers. Windows had been cast open. The Southern wind filled each room, and even the busy staff members were in high spirits. 

Everyone, it appeared, was feeling that ‘something new’; that thrill of excitement that came with the season. Everyone, that was, except the madam emperor. 

This particular year, Edelgard found herself in a mess of delegations and gala arrangements. She was waking up tired and barely making it beneath the covers at night before she collapsed. It was one long string of tasks before another. 

Being the supportive wife she was, Byleth did her best to pitch in. Though, it was often Edelgard who would not allow it. She had her standards as emperor; standards which only El felt she could live up to. There was also that itch for control, which Edelgard would not give up.

However, despite the turmoil, there were only twelve more hours before the final event of the year. At the end of this evening, Edelgard would be free to enjoy the rest of her holiday in peace. 

To say she was eager for it to be done with; that would be an understatement.

On that morning, she awoke early. The sun had barely started its trek across the sky when her lavender eyes blinked open. 

Edelgard turned to her back. 

She was surprised to find Byleth’s side of the bed baron. Even the mattress had cooled, meaning she’d been gone for some time. 

That realization caused El to frown. Mornings spent with her wife was her favorite part of the day. In that span of time between nothing and breakfast, they would share a few quiet moments together. Byleth would hold her softly as she ran her fingers through Edelgard’s hair. 

Unfortunately on this morning, that time had been robbed from her… or so she had thought. 

The door to her suite opened. Edelgard was first greeted by Byleth’s warm smile, and then the scent of Bergamot tea. 

She closed the door with her foot, carrying a silver tray between her two hands. Edelgard watched her. Byleth set the tray at the foot of the bed before joining her wife under the covers. 

“Have you brought something for me?” Edelgard asked. A single brow arched toward the tea. 

“Perhaps,” Byleth shrugged. 

She leaned down and pulled the tray into her lap. Byleth felt Edelgard peering over her shoulder. She smirked, knowing that after all theses years together, her wife still doubted she could pour her a proper cup of tea. 

“Mostly sugar and a splash of cream.” She handed her the glass. 

Smug in her expression, Edelgard sat back into the pillows. She sipped her tea. Her eyes lifted over the brim of her cup, teasing Byleth with her silence. 

“I am merely waiting for the day you forget, so I might mock you for it.” 

“It will never happen.” Byleth responded dryly. “I have been preparing your tea since you were seventeen. The only persons’ tea I mess up on occasion, is mine; and that only happens when forget I am not preparing yours.”

Edelgard rolled her eyes. She set her mug down on the tray and leaned forward to press her lips to her wife’s. 

“It is a wonderful thing to be so well known.” She smiled. 

Edelgard kissed her once more; just because she could. Then, she stretched back across the bed. 

A groan worked up from her chest and she sighed. “I have to get my day moving.” She pouted. 

Byleth loved these rare moments with her wife. Edelgard’s mask was down. In here, she was free to be herself; even if that person was groaning and disheartened about her coming day. There was something so normal about it; so entirely human. To be awarded the opportunity to see the emperor in her silly morning grumblings; now that was a wonderful thing. 

“Anyway, so what do you have planned before the gala tonight?”

Byleth’s lips pulled to the side. Her nose scrunched, and she turned away. “I believe you mean, ‘we’.” She whispered coyly. 

“We?” Edelgard’s eyes turned wide. “We have plans?”

“We do.” 

Byleth returned the tray to the foot of the bed, and Edelgard watched Byleth roll towards her.

“We have somewhere we have to be this afternoon.” She explained softly. “-somewhere I would like to take you, actually.”

Not understanding, Edelgard arched her neck. “Today? But there is so much to be done here. I need to double-check the table settings, and finalize the menus and-”

She stopped mid-rant. Byleth was shaking her head. 

“Everything has been taken care of, my love.”

Edelgard ignored her. “The garden- they were clearing the wicker from the patio and replacing them with-”

“No.” Her fingers settled over El’s lips. “The staff has been made aware. I have told them we will arrive back with plenty of time to dress before the gala.”

Edelgard’s brows pinched. She sucked down on her bottom lip. “I am afraid I don’t understand.”

“-and you won’t,” Byleth stood from the bed. “-not until you have dressed and we get on our way. Now, hurry up. Drink your tea.” 

She placed her lips against Edelgard’s brow. 

“Oh, and El,” Byleth hummed when she reached the door. “Dress warm.”

Her jaw tipped wide, but Byleth had gone. 

Edelgard was then alone in her confusion. 

* * *

Minutes later, she descended the stairs to the grand foyer. She was dressed in her travel gear, despite how frustrated the unnecessary layers made her. There, in the center hall, Edelgard found the staff busy in their preparations for the evening’s feast. 

One female in particular, she was arranging centerpieces. Unfortunately for Edelgard, the woman was using roses in lieu of the carnations she had put aside. 

Edelgard innerly groaned. “I explicitly called for white centerpieces-” She had just begun when Edelgard was swiftly pulled aside. Byleth had taken El’s arm in her hand, and she was dragging her toward the door. 

“We are leaving.” Byleth announced.

“-but this will only take a moment.”

She decidedly silenced. 

Edelgard knew by tell of the expression on her wife’s face that Byleth would not be backing down. Instead, she grumbled. Her face strained. Edelgard allowed herself to be directed to the courtyard, dragging her feet to make certain Byleth knew how irritated she was with her secrecy. 

“I truly hope I do not have to explain to you how ill-timed all of this is.” Edelgard came to a halt at the edge of the walk. Her arms crossed sharply. 

“Timing, my love, is precisely why we are leaving the palace today.” 

Edelgard went to respond as a horse-led carriage stalled at her feet. Words trapped to the tip of her tongue. Her eyes turned wide, and she looked up in awe at what awaited her.

A man stepped down from the carriage, which had been laiden with fresh garland. He reached for Edelgard’s hand, but the woman remained frozen in her shock.

“I don’t understand.” She mumbled for the upteenth time that day. 

Edelgard turned to Byleth with a furrowed brow. 

“Just, get in the carriage, El.” She nudged her wife forward. 

Overriding her confusion, Edelgard allowed the man to help her into the bench. Byleth joined at her side and took the reins into her hands. 

“All situated?” She asked. 

Edelgard fumbled as she looked around at her feet. “I believe so, but-”

Her statement was cut short as the horse lurched forward. Edelgard was forced back into her seat with a breathy gasp. 

They were off, and with very little time for protest. All of Edelgard’s planned defences were then made irrelevant. 

Heavy in her frustration, she placed her arms around her chest and sighed. 

She could only hope that whatever Byleth had planned would not take long.

* * *

“Has being bitter stifled your curiosity?” Byleth teased as they reached the outskirts of Enbarr. 

Edelgard had turned silent upon leaving the palace. Her face was cross. Her arms remained folded, and she held her eyes strategically away from Byleth’s. 

“It appears my curiosity has fallen short of my annoyance.” She sharply explained. “What is the meaning of all this?”

“Well,” Byleth began. She pulled her foot up onto the iron bar as she rotated toward her wife. “The other night, you told me that you wished we had more time-” 

“I did not, however, tell you to start stealing time from the little I had to get things done.” She cut Byleth off in justification. 

Byleth met her wife’s argument with silence and lowered eyes. 

“Might I continue?” Byleth drawled. Her stare held strictly at El’s. 

Edelgard merely nodded. She pulled her arms tighter around her chest. 

Satisfied, Byleth released a stubborn breath. “You said you wanted more time, and that so much of what we had was taken up by war.” 

She tested Edelgard’s compliance by turning quiet. Byleth waited, watching her words settle between Edelgard’s ears.

“Whether war or delegations, or even these festivities we throw for our guests; we have allowed ourselves to stay in the same routine.” She finally explained. “We haven’t any time to ourselves because we allot the little we do, to the things for which matter less.”

“-but the gala.”

Byleth shook her head, testing Edelgard once more. Her hand fell to her wife’s knee, and Byleth squeezed it affectionately. 

“As I was saying...” She dared to go on. “Today, I am stealing back time, as you so put it, to make for more memories. I am utilizing the staff we pay well, to do the jobs they were hired for. I would like for us to enjoy the season in the way it was intended to be celebrated… together; with the one we love.”

Irritation slowly faded from Edelgard’s face. In its place, a rare look of astonishment began to take over. 

She blushed. “You truly believe us to be stuck in our always? Just because I work does not mean I do not appreciate what we have.” 

Byleth frowned. “Do not put words in my mouth.” 

She suddenly softened. Her head turned and she provided El with a playful nudge. 

“I am giving us this time, today. However, I am aware that there will always be moments where delegations and strategy hearings take precedence. That is part of the job, and a large part of the reason I decided to come to Enbarr in the first place.”

Edelgard smirked. “-to watch me work?” 

“No.” Rolling her eyes, Byleth released a small laugh. “-to watch you change the world. That has always been your priority, and I love you for it.”

She smiled softly. Her skin was suddenly very warm. Edelgard’s heart raced in her chest, and her stomach fluttered in a way it had not managed to in a very long time. 

“So tell me, then- I am dressed in my travel armour and overcoat because…” Edelgard teased, leaning heavily against Byleth’s arm.

“You shall shortly see.” She simply stated. 

Byleth’s lips lingered against Edelgard’s temple, directly beneath the brim of her crown. She squeezed her knee once more, and then returned her attention to the road.

* * *

Shortly may have been an understatement. However, they did arrive at their destination within the hour. 

Byleth had led them to the Northernmost part of the Morgaine Ravine. There, she took an old camp route up toward a mountain pass. 

Edelgard shivered as the temperature began to drop. 

“All the times I traveled this route on my way to Garreg Mach, I never noticed there was a road here before.” She admitted with a bit of a pout. “How shamefully unobservant of me...”

“It’s a trade secret.” Byleth assured her. 

“From when you were a mercenary?”

Byleth nodded. “The route is usually overgrown, making it the perfect escape hatch for bandits and looters. However, I had some help clearing it out.” 

Edelgard went to question what her wife had meant, but she suddenly understood all too well. 

Ice laced the tree branches, holding them away from the road. The whole path had layered between frost and snow. Each fractal caught in the sun’s rays and caused them to sparkle like gemstones. 

“Mages…” Edelgard breathed. “Who was it? Was it Dorothea? Did Dorothea come here?” She guessed excitedly. 

Byleth shrugged. “She may have arrived a day or two early to help me prepare.”

El’s jaw dropped. She struck Byleth’s arm with the back of her hand. “You didn’t tell me!”

“You shall see her tonight, remember?”

She went to speak again when something else stole Edelgard’s voice. 

The carriage had slowed at the hilt of a wide clearing. Before them, the entire ground had been transformed into a pond of ice. It was smooth and reflected a span of clear blue sky. 

They came to a halt. 

“Byleth…” She managed to breathe. “What have you done here?” 

“You told me once that your best memories from your time in Faerghus happened when it snowed. Well, we don’t get much of that in Enbarr. So, I have decided to bring winter here, to you.”

Edelgard turned to Byleth. Her grin was wide. “Do you listen to everything I say?” 

She nodded sharply. “Of course I do.”

Byleth leaned beneath her seat and lifted a burlap draped box into Edelgard’s lap. Her smile mimicked her wife’s as she nudged her to open it. 

“I also remembered you saying that this was always something you wished you’d had the time to learn.”

Edelgard pulled back the lid. “Ice skates?” She gasped. 

Her finger traced along the silver blade. Edelgard’s tone turned bittersweet. 

“My mother had meant to teach me before my return to Enbarr, but we never got our moment...”

“I know,” Byleth pulled out a single blade. “That is why I am gifting you the time to learn.”

“Because we have it?” Edelgard beamed. 

Byleth nodded and took her wife’s foot in her lap. “Because we have it.” 

She watched Byleth replace her riding boots with each skate. They were warm and secure around her ankles.

“You will be teaching me, then?” Edelgard’s brow arched in curiosity as Byleth’s shoulders pulled up into her ears. 

“I thought that we might learn together.” She explained with a small grin. 

Edelgard watched Byleth retrieving a second set of skates from within her travel bag. Her heart swelled at the sight. 

Before her was a woman who had dedicated her life to Edelgard's continued happiness. Byleth stopped at nothing to ensure she was always doing what Edelgard may need. Now, during the most transformative time of year, her wife was gifting her a simple moment in time. She was giving Edelgard the one gift she had requested. 

This caused Edelgard to smile.

“Together.” She finally agreed, and squeezed her wife's hand. 

* * *

_-M._


End file.
